o There is something intriguing… watching from this one stone ripples that move across the lake…

o One stone…

· Wide impact that starts from one centre… is often called the ripple affect…

· Jesus is the epicentre in the history of God’s relationship with humankind…

· His prayer follows an interesting ripple affect…

Biblical:

John 17:1 Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, 2 even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life. 3 "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. 4 "I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do. 5 "Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was. 6 "I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. 7 "Now they have come to know that everything You have given Me is from You; 8 for the words which You gave Me I have given to them; and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me. 9 "I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours; 10 and all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them. 11 "I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are. 12 "While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled. 13 "But now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves. 14 "I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 15 "I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. 16 "They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 17 "Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. 18 "As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. 19 "For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth. 20 "I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; 21 that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 "The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; 23 I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. 24 "Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. 25 "O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me; 26 and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them."

Personal:

If you are looking for a reliable car… maybe a second car… what are the most first things your need to check...?

· dings in the paint

· the condition of the interior

· how about the tires

· or maybe the best place to start is with the engine the rest of the drive train…

· It can have a great paint job… immaculate interior and new tires… but if the very heart of the vehicle isn’t functioning properly… the whole thing is a NO GO…

Bridge:

Jesus teaches us something simple… yet profound in his teaching in John 17… not only do we here the content of the high priestly prayer but we heard how he prayed it… just like the ripples from a stone tossed into the water… He started at the Core and moved out…

Our prayers need to radiate out from our vision of God and who we are in God…

Body:

Jesus – The Central Relationship

John 17:1 Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, 2 even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life. 3 "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. 4 "I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do. 5 "Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.

His Identity… Who He is in the Father… relationship to God

John 10:30 "IandtheFather are one."

Secure position in the Father

Knowing who He is…

Our identity… This is important for us…

When we pray… who are we…

John 10:29 "My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.

We are secure in our position with God!!

Authority

"Allauthority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” Matt 28:18

… authority over all flesh

Our Authority comes from Christ… from the word…

Paul’s words to Titus re: Teaching Sound Doctrine… Titus 2:15 These things speak and exhort and reprove with allauthority. Let no one disregard you

Jesus who has all authority… gives authority… but for what…

Mission

"I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do.”

Bringing the Gospel of Hope… teaching the truth… demonstrating the love of God… the power of God… being the very revelation of God… even being the perfect sacrifice…

Our Mission

Matthew 28:19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

2 Corinthians 5:18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation,

Know who you are…

Know where your authority comes from…

Know your Mission…

Know your Father will be Faithful to his promise…

For Christ it was a return to glory…

For us it is his promise we call him to…

Romans 8:29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; 30 and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.

The first ring of the prayer… the closest to the epicentre…

Who Am I in Christ… the Central Relationship

Our prayers need to radiate out from our vision of God and who we are in God…

Jesus – and the inner circle… the next ring

6 "I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. 7 "Now they have come to know that everything You have given Me is from You; 8 for the words which You gave Me I have given to them; and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me. 9 "I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours; 10 and all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them. 11 "I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are. 12 "While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled. 13 "But now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves. 14 "I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 15 "I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. 16 "They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 17 "Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. 18 "As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. 19 "For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.

Co-labourers

1 Corinthians 3:9 For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building.

We are on a mission together…

One Heart… One Mind… One Spirit

Philippians 1:27 Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with onemind striving together for the faith of the gospel…

Specific… Separated (They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world)

Concern…

Protect their salvation

Minster the Word to them…

Wash them… make them holy through your word (Sanctify them in truth)

Protect their mission… in the world

Modeled holiness… so that they would be holy

Our prayers for our co-labourers… the inner circle

One Heart… One Mind… One Spirit

Our prayers need to radiate out from our vision of God and who we are in God…

Jesus - Prays for the Church…

20 "I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; 21 that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 "The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; 23 I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. 24 "Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. 25 "O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me; 26 and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them."

Jesus… paraphrase… as you know Father… this isn’t a country club… I do not ask on behalf of these alone…

Jesus prayer is for the big “C” church… the universal and eternal Church of Christ…

Brothers and Sisters around the globe… in every age…

Father don’t let their humanness divide them… but as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become childrenofGod, even to those who believe in His name…

They are one family…

One Heart… One Mind… One Spirit

We need to remember that the church is not a building… that we here are just a local manifestation… of the eternal, invisible, Church of Christ… the Holy Bride… we are a church not THE Church…

The Church that testifies to Christ…

Share the truth that… God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

We will be glorified… as the people of God… in Christ Jesus…

Jesus’ prayer…

Don’t let the world distract them…

Don’t let Satan divide them…

Don’t let pride impede them…

Don’t let sin mar them…

Father keep them unified… focused… passionate… loving… kind…

Father commit them to their mission… to my love… to the gospel hope…

For Father this whole anchor in redemptive history was secured before the foundations of the earth… in this they should have confidence…

We need to pray… in line with Christ… for the Church… worldwide… for her testimony, her fidelity (faithfulness to Truth), for her love and for her mission!!

Jesus prayed for the church… we must pray for the church.

Our prayers need to radiate out from our vision of God and who we are in God…

Conclusion:

1) The Central Relationship

Know Who you Are in Christ (in the Father’s Hand… Crucified in Christ)

Know Where your authority comes from… From Jesus and Scripture

Know the Mission

Matt 28:20

2) The Inner Circle

One Heart - One Mind - One Spirit

Pray for their Salvation, for their Sanctification, for their part in the Mission

3) The Church

Jesus prays for the Universal Church

For her Testimony, for her Fidelity or faithfulness for her Love , and for her Mission.

Our prayers need to radiate out from our vision of God and who we are in God…